i didn't disappear. i have been suffering from a debilitating condition called internetlessness. this condition, as bad as it is, is only a symptom of a much bigger, more serious condition, that everyone in south africa is suffering from. it is called powerlessness. this condition is caused by a very nasty pest called eskom.
eskom is south africa's electricity provider. in theory. these people have for years been driven by bonuses for senior management, and have not heeded any warnings that they would run out of capacity in 2007. until they ran out of capacity in january 2008. now, they still provide power to our neighboring countries, and they still get huge bonuses, but we do not have enough power in south africa for all of us to use at the same time. so, we have to share.
sharing is very nice in a family set-up, where we all share toys and chores and desserts. but now we have to take turns in using power. when demand is greater than capacity, some areas simply have their power turned off for about 3 hours at a time. you have no choice. it is just switched off. whether you are a shop, a restaurant, a hairdresser, a hospital or a fuel station, you are switched off. even the traffic lights go off, causing traffic chaos on the roads.
no matter what they say, there are still areas that get switched off more than others. so, you must just manage, and stop complaining. no matter that you have employees who are paid to work and sit for hours chatting in the dark, or you have deadlines and overheads and you can't earn an income, or that you have loads of laundry, and kids with no clean clothes.
on mondays i work at home. i do admin and books and such. this monday my power at home was off from 07h50 to 16h15. tuesday in the shop we were off from 10h00 to 13h00. we have had NON STOP rain since thursday afternoon, and it got very cold, colder than an average winter's day, and quite dark. so, demand increased suddenly. during this time 9! yes, 9! power sub-stations tripped - due to lack of maintenance? so, yesterday was a black tuesday, everybody had their turn to share. and oh yes, they have just implemented these new schedules so we can plan around the 'rolling black-outs', but on the first 2 days of the schedule, they did not stick to them.
add to this the fact that the telephone line in my shop has not worked in 6 weeks, and the level of frustration level is high!
so, in my shop we have implemented a new point of sale system. it is so genius and advanced, that even telkom and eskom cannot affect it.
it works with an invoice book, a calculator and a 'zip-zap' credit card machine. see, no telephone or power required!
maybe soon we will get hot water like this:
oh dear, it won't work, we need electricity for that!
but, just when i feel like packing up and emigrating to australia, i get home and find these guinea fowl and their babies in my driveway. the quality of the photos is bad, because they just wouldn't stand still.
africa is not for sissies...
ps. eskom's senior management are getting their bonuses next week. and they have just asked for a 53% increase in the cost of electricity. after they got a 14% increase in december!
edited to add: i came home at 18h30, to find the power was off. i had just been to the supermarket, and could have gotten something ready to eat, but i did not know. so, i had to fry eggs on the gas bottle stove...
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES
